A Positive Shalom
We live in fractured times. Hurricanes can disable a mighty national giant such as the U.S.A. A tornado can rip through a state causing panic. Malaria is still a threat in subsaharan Africa. Disease is thoroughly sweeping the Globe. And what is the cause of much human suffering, even until this day in 2008? WAR. Not only do our fragile eco-systems have to contain the wrath of 'Mother Nature,' but we human beings are increasingly at war with each other. The only thing that keeps our own nation from plunging into all-out civil war (at times . . .) is our LEGAL SYSTEM! When in doubt sue! The American mantra of "sue at all costs" can be applied "if you have been 'injured' in an auto accident" OR if you have been improperly treated by medical staff! In fact, in my home state of Florida, the "sue the rich" just because they are wealthy orientation is RAMPANT (I know of one malpractice lawyer, with whom I studied at Davidson College, who practices LAW solely because his father, an honorable physician, was crippled by the rising costs of 'malpractice insurance'). But, at least in the good old U.S. we SUE, rather than go to war internally . . . Too bad that our "external" enemies do not have the SAME LEGAL PROTECTION. No, with the former War-Like Bush-Cheney Administration, we adopted the un-just position of "pre-emptive war" and "regime change." (and no, truly democratic nations should not be striking pre-emptively as this goes against 1600 years of Just War Theory in the West!) So, what are we now to do as the most powerful military in the world? My own thoughts are that we should act more according to diplomacy and mutually reciprocating economic relationships! In short, if a nation state (Saudi Arabia for example . . .) is in close financial agreements with us, then we will be much less likely to actually fight on the field of battle! Yes, normal diplomacy should always be utilized, but sometimes just the normal buying and selling of computers, automobiles, Levi's jeans, etc. can cause such a 'web' of inter-dependence to form that war would be unthinkable! Although it is a concept arising from a religious tradition (namely Judaism), maybe the concept of SHALOM should be emphasized more. SHALOM means that ALL creation is at peace. Contrary to "Darwinian 'survival of the fittest" the Jewish Tradition paints a picture of PEACE that even affects the animal kingdom. In the Prophet Isaiah, the human ideal is ALSO the ideal of the animal kingdom as the "lion will eat grass" instead of flesh and the lamb will be able to lay down next to the lion! At the human level, swords shall literally be beaten into plowshares! In fact, on a historic American Revolutionary battlefield in Cowpens, South Carolina, the area that had previously seen blood-shed during the Revolutionary War later had been turned into a FARMING area for the next two centuries afterwards! PEACE IS POSSIBLE. Let us as the human community give peace a chance . . . SHALOM,--RobJKing 19:08, 4 March 2008 (UTC) Category:Essays